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So if you follow us on social media you see a lot of changes we are going through as a business. For one I keep saying WE – yes we- I have a dear friend Michelle Russo who is flying copilot right now with BethKaya and the new venture – Self Care Cafe. She’s a beautiful soul, if you’re a friend of BethKaya, you know her by now but I will just formally say she is helping me keep my head above water. Along with several other players, you know who you are, and your time is coming. Thank you to everyone again and again for donating and supporting our self care mission!

We leased a space in Brick NJ and it’s adorable, the issues we are having getting into the space however, not so adorable. That’s an entirely different post and for all things considered, let’s keep the tone happy.

I just did a late season restock on some new soaps, scent sizes, crystal parcels and orgone pieces. As I have money invested into the store front – I simply need your support. Things I’ve been sitting on are going to need to get uploaded and move out! So stay tuned to the etsy shop and keep checking back. It will take time for us to get into the space and we need the online business to have the same level of dedication if not more to be able to keep this dream floating.

We are signed on to vend the Asbury Indian Summer Bazaar on Sunday Sept 24! I will be releasing more info about that in a little while but for now mark your calenders, it’s my birthday weekend btw so you simply can’t miss it! Not to mention tons of amazing vendors in the hottest spot on the jersey shore!

Additionally – the lovely Zoe Wilder has written a beautiful article about us again and it landed in Magnetic Magazine! Check it out here!

Also I know it’s late notice but it’s not too late to learn about this exciting spoken word movement called VERBATIM. Tomorrow evening I will be reading some poetry along with some wonderful features and following that will be an open mic. I would love to hear your words too! Here is more info! Please come!

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My friends in Georgia all have kids starting school this week. Let’s hold onto what is left.

Sidenote : If you are local and want to come to a little underground spoken word movement we are starting – sign up for info here:

Sign up to get details about SPEAKEASY poetry events

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By submitting this form, you are granting: BethKaya, 515 Drum Point Rd, Brick, New Jersey, 08723, United States, http://www.bethkaya.etsy.com permission to email you. You may unsubscribe via the link found at the bottom of every email. (See our Email Privacy Policy for details.) Emails are serviced by Constant Contact.

Hey you good lookin! ⚡️

Now That I have spammed you up enough, and I hope you’ve written all that down – I am gonna jet and stay tuned for more info. Thanks for reading!

Spring has sprung! My shop is open and flowing. I am slow and going, but moving! Some changes – ship time will be a little slower, please understand I take a lot of time on each package and personalize every one. This isn’t an overnight thing, especially with some welcome volume!

Less green fragrances, nothing new for this season in that department, just old favorites people love. This collection is aimed at people who are sensitive to chemicals and also essential oils. With that, I have designed SO MANY essential oil aromatherapy blends and am releasing them little by little to share with you.

New Beeswax Candles and Some Hand Picked Specimes also! *If you are looking for essential Oil diffuser equipment, message me on etsy!

www.bethkaya.etsy.com

Check the shop out to see and read about some of the aromatherapy new players!

So it’s been about 2 months since I have checked in here. There is so much to say. Let’s start with I am feeling good. That’s a great place to be. This surgery was huge but also reminded me how small I am as well. A lot of surviving hardship is about “surrender” – a lot happens we don’t expect, and when we resist , it becomes even tougher. This time I surrendered and am very pleased with things.

The time I’ve had off to focus on self care has been wonderful. My soul feels like I gave myself the space and energy it deserved to get through this hurdle. The tumors came out clean, pathology came out great and I have spent my time resting, binging on a new found love for television and a reignited old flame, pinterest. I realised that I haven’t felt RESTFUL in so long. No wonder I was constantly anxious and stressed out.

This experience has been a shift and a gift. I hope you all enjoyed the instagram takeover from my dear friend Meri from @gardensofthesun

“The bug soap is my daughter’s absolute fave. She loves the subtle scent, the soft lilac color and how she can let it fly over the tub. Next up I hope to give her one of Beth’s golden buddha soaps! Has anyone tried those yet? – Meri”

“Bali life is pretty good. As in, it’s amazing. I’m grateful for every single second of it. And the tub is definitely a bonus When we still lived in Java I got dengue fever and typhoid a few times. You just get sick a bit easier here in the tropics. We didn’t have hot water for years, and when we left I knew I wanted to move to house with a bath for the days we get ill. When the soreness and the aching gets into your bones and your knuckles, and it hurts even to lie down, nothing is more relieving than a nice warm bath. And a little self-care on the weekends never hurts! – Meri”

“The salt scrub is my absolute fave. This is my third bag of the most divine smelling salts. Beth, you can never ever stop making these!!! -Meri”

“I’ve been a raving fan of BethKaya for several years now. I still remember my very first purchase from Beth – the warm vanilla fig perfume oil mixed with little rough gems. I keep coming back to this scent, it’s the one that got me hooked. Do you remember your first purchase from Beth? -Meri”

“The gemstones hidden inside the soaps are the best thing ever! It’s like a little surprise. The tumbled stone is slowly revealing itself from the Brandied Pear & Lemon Poppy Soap. Can you guess what stone it is? -Meri”

“How does Beth even dream up all these wonderful combinations?! I mean citrus, basil, vanilla and mint! Amethyst, lavender and orange! – Meri”

What a beautiful tone to return to!

I still need a few weeks to get my act and line up together. But my focus is centered on re-invigorated intentions – tones like Citrus, Ginger, Orchid, Artic, Mint , Guava, Coconut and Rain,. I will lean on those myself to get my physical capacity back up to where it once was again then design self care pearls for the shop.

On another note some; and by some I mean a “paraphrased few” of my words were published in an article “sort of” about self care in Refinery29 – you can find the article here:

It’s ironic that a little self pampering and love is exactly what I needed for so long considering this is what my offerings are rooted within. Sending you all the best the ides of march has to offer and thank you for many of your supports.

2.27.17

Makeup

Makeup can be the difference between feeling undead

And human again

A bra

A bra is motivation to do something

House work ?

A scar below the bikini line seeing with two stab wound eyes in the belly and a belly button puncture for a nose

Just wanted to let anyone visiting know the shop is closed until further notice. Hopefully just a few months but I am not putting expectations on anything right now. I appreciate every person who has ever supported my journey as an artist. It’s not over , it’s just – pausing and changing.

Tension is so high you can cut it like a knife through hot butter.
At this point you might know I am closing BETHKAYA down the first week of February for a health hiatus. I am getting to the “resigned” place I need to be but will miss this day to day. I realize it won’t be forever and I know that coming back refreshed, with new perspective will be a blessing. Recovering from surgery and my family is super important to focus on.

The process of getting to this stage has taken a toll. It’s brought a lot of feelings to the surface. A chronic condition teaches you a lot. There’s no replacing these lessons but I’ve coped with those feelings in different ways.

At first I felt so determined to heal myself and broke up with everything that everyone says is bad for you. Food, People, Habits – then I went on a crazy juice cleanse that spurred a lot of healthy choices. It was too polarizing perhaps because it crashed hard into a spiral of Klondike bar abuse. The balance is always hard to strike, the climb is always happening at the same time.

“For the benefit of the flowers, we water the thorns too.”

SELF CARE is a constant concept that is floating around because I see a lot of BROKEN people walking around trying to break other people. We all need to take care of ourselves, we can lean on supports, ask for supports but the crux of everything comes back to whether or not you are taking care of yourself. After my fascist diet crashed I found myself eating sweets constantly. Pie, Cake, Ice cream and even EVEN fast food! What happened to my resolve?

The thing about fast food is that there is a particular flavor you know. Perhaps since from childhood, and it’s something comforting & familiar. You’re getting exactly (hopefully) what you set out to. It’s rare in life to be able to nurse that need, or have that control. I know it’s really important to be aware of when this needs to come into balance but also to live a little too.

It’s saying to yourself I can be healthy and also indulge sometimes. For me I know a piece of pie here and there is ok. The next couple days leading up to the surgery I will be mindful of my diet because I know that will be a key component to feeling well in the days after surgery. But for one night, it will be belligerently about burning calories (dancing) while having desserts too!

Next FRIDAY 2/3/17 I am hosting this party:

Flier By Chris Rockwell

I am looking forward to this so much and am very thankful to the friends who are helping to put this together! Also I will be making A HUGE announcement about the future of BethKaya. If you come use hashtag #SWEETSNBEATS so I can see your event media online!

Also I would like to wish my dear friend and Self Care Cafe partner Michelle Russo a Happy Birthday! FEEL FREE to shower her with those sentiments at the party!

A little more about the event –

This started as a house party concept but I realized…

… I didn’t want people in my house before surgery! 😀 So this concept came on strong and I am flowing with it. There are a lot of amazing, talented people in the community and they also happen to support the BETHKAYA label. Thank You for that!

In historic Lakewood NJ’s beautiful STRAND THEATER, we will come together over a massive dessert bar, music, dancing, entertainment, raffle prizes and of course some BETHKAYA merch!

Over the last few years I’ve noticed this little insidious thing on social media. There is a lack of willingness to foster authentic relationships. We are full of short cuts & tear downs. No one is here to make sure anyone else makes the climb, and no one is here to make sure others don’t. What I mean by that is the “digital bullying” has to end and the digital soap boxing is tired.

No one is more deserving of ANYTHING than anyone else, if you are working hard on your own path.

I have made a few foes along the way in this business. Most of them have come from quite literally me being assertive or up front. The receiving end decided that because of that, I am not worthy anymore. That is TOTALLY ok. What is not OK, is ganging up on me. It is not ok to be working behind closed doors to actively tear me or other people down. This is happening so much it’s sickening. I see it all over facebook, instagram and also emerging platforms.

You know what I am talking about! The screen grabs, the gossip, the “please don’t like this person because they did XYZ to me”. Everyone has their own truth. Honor that truth. I can be a villain to you if that is your truth, and you can be one to me too. That is OUR business. People have done terrible things to me on the way. I’ve wanted to put them on blast so many times. Oh the dirty bloggers who solicited free stuff never to deliver the promised promotions, or the bitch cliques that just don’t like me because of whatever reason and won’t even sniff in my direction. OK fair enough, we don’t vibe I guess but are we so caught up in relationship shortcuts that we can’t talk things out? – That we don’t give people first chances let alone second ones? – That any expression of anything but positivity or even pseudo positivity is a confrontation we can’t handle anymore? Subsequently the tidal wave response of shunning occur. This is bullshit. I’m sorry, I have to call it out.

Learn to have a two way conversation with people. I can’t tell you how many times I have not been worth that in the last year. True colors are a blessing in disguise but at the end of the day, sometimes it can turn into bullying, exclusions and ganging up. Let people discover each other without your interference. Thank You.

A client and acquaintance wrote me a letter that they didn’t want to associate with me because of something another person in the business arena said about me. Gee that seems fair? I didn’t even defend myself. I had bought this person’s art, I supported and cherished the digital connection I thought we had. I was genuine in fostering it. Who’s right is it to impune on my relationships, and even business because of a situation they had with me? Frankly and truthfully, a situation that actually had me on the end of the back stabbery but like many times in my life if you’re not even given a chance, it’s just not worth the argument. IfI was approached in a way that allowed me a chance to speak my truth, bridges could be built and this has been sitting on my heart. Ultimately, I have thousands of happy customers to put my faith on for the moment to sail me through the insecurity this causes me, naturally. This was also the second incident in the same month involving a customer who seemed to have expectations of me and a relationship I really didn’t fully grip. Could we not project so much onto internet friends?

I’m not going to be awesome to everyone, not everyone is awesome to me.

There are also some issues I have with just trolling for inspirations, rips, cherry picking customers to the point of following my family members to do so, none of this is good karma, and all of this will put you on the outs with me, personally.

We all have a right to lay out our boundaries and be respected. If you’re not respected as a pattern, you drop the axe. It took me SO long to realize it was OK to do that. To those people, I might be a villain and that is their truth. I honor that truth. Infecting others with your truth is kind of like mind washing. It’s unfair and it creates unspoken wars. I see this happening all the time among my personal peers, business peers and just from a distance – especially online.

This is getting us no where as a society. It’s not your responsibility to tear anyone down even if they have hurt you. Your responsibility is to nurture your highest purpose and perhaps even others’.

It’s also time to stop being afraid of our confrontations and learn to use a little more tact. Myself totally included! Speak up when you need to and pipe down when it’s time. If it’s not helpful, why go there? How about the just plain out of no where rude or hurtful comments from trolling scrollers? Why is this part of the fabric of digital bullying now too? Slow snipes ad up. Just don’t be that jerk.

I also want to mention, as a business owner it’s illegal to slander someone causing them to lose business to a potential customer. In writing, the proof of such is actionable. Does anyone need anymore reasons to put their words in a box before offering them? (@thisthatandthese taught me that trick!)

Here’s to better relationships, truest colors and brightest intentions, there is no dry run for this. We are living this now – every day is a chance to make advances and set better intentions.

I was happy to say goodbye to 2016. I think so many people were. It was like a whole internet thing. Now 2017 is here and I’ve stepped on a few rakes already. I guess perhaps no one should blame an entire YEAR for what is actually LIFE.

So I have a surgery date on the map , 2/9 – this month will be filled with pre op tests and also focused production for a final push in my shop before I go on a hiatus. I have NO idea what that will look like. There are so many questions, but all of it is unknown. I must get to the other side, and I will.

There’s a quiet calm right now flowing through my fingertips. This is where great design comes from. I know that the beauty in my life comes from source. There was a lot of loss this past year for me. In bad and good ways.

Some of those ways purely sat on my attitude. I hardened. There were moments coming up in this business where knives went into my back. I am still climbing, always climbing. There’s always a new view to find and there’s always unstable ground.

With all of this the blaring message is clear to me and where I want my work to continue to evolve towards. SELF CARE is paramount. The items I create are rooted in self care and the take away is that no one can be whole, without nourishing their minds, bodies and souls. My customers come to me for this and I want to bring more than ever to the table in this sense. But first I have to take care of my health and see where I land. Its totally a crapshoot waiting game. I am planning things, with beautiful people and I feel really confident that in 2017 I will have a HUGE announcement.

Follow me at SELF CARE CAFE on Instagram. My dear friend and alliance with this project Michelle will be co hosting this with me. The goal is to promote healthy self care rituals, products, meals and brands, for now ;).

Happy Holidays and thank you to all of my beautiful patrons. It’s been a really abundant year at BethKaya. Going into surgery (date is set now 2/9) I am confident that afterwards I will be onto bigger things.

Here are some items I’ve been tinkering with just seasonally in small batches. I am going through this phase of creating items that appeal to the solar plexus and uplift spirits, naturally it being winter sometimes those blues catch up. Here’s to YELLOW!

Sometimes I get to really only check in once a season, having omnipresence on social media might make that excusable. I took a several month FB Hiatus to sort my head out a bit after ingesting this heavy news about needing surgery. So the ball is finally rolling and I have about 5 weeks left to stay open prior to all that going down. I anticipate being closed for about 2 months afterwards. I just don’t truly know. I will try to have essentials stocked up for you to stock up on in my absence, primarily Miracle Moringa and Faithful Shea Soaps. Those are my customers staples so I’ll do my best. I ask for your support right now .

Here is a preview of whats on the bill for the shop right now and through the coming weeks.

Biggest baddest version of my Moringa Miracle Bar to date up and live just for the holidays. ✨This soap sells out fast so grab it while it’s there / 4.6 oz

MOONBUTTER – pure organic avocado butter infused with Frankincense & Tangerine Oils married by Carnelian Energy. This butter was developed to rub on the stomach during times of lunar discomfort, but can also be used on breasts and hips as a ultra emollient protectant balm. Frankincense is particularly useful for those with tumors or endometrial discomfort. Developed for myself, offered to you in ❤️ SELLS OUT FAST

✨GARNET – Crystal infused 100% Natural Lipgloss.

Sold out Before I could Write about It My 96 year old grandpa asked me to make him a man soap. Can’t say no to Grandpa. This soap scent I’ll just label STEEL – it’s aquatic, masculine and fresh. Paired with an Amazonite core , Himalayan salt, and bronze dust abstracting with Activated Charcoal.

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Personal Smudge Kit

#lepidolite ..the finer things mood pills are made of ⚡️#nofilter

⚡️Signature

Orgone

Keep me posted on what you want to see go up in the shop before I close for a while. Thank you always for your love and supports.

Crystal Infused Lifestyle Art

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11 hours agoby BethKaya Sometimes I think about my thoughts and what I want, then I write them down and bundle them into crystals and wax. They become reality then. These are for the heart and throat // the basis for clear communications and expressed intents. Heart is hurting lately. I'll put it in my throats and speak a wish, light a flame and release a prayer ⚡️